Annie Choi’s launches her second book, a collection of hilarious and heartfelt personal essays. Drinks will be available.

AboutSHUT UP, YOU’RE WELCOME:

Annie Choi wants to tell you a few things: She hates musical theater. Maybe something is dead inside of me. She thinks sandwiches are boring. Fact: Onion on a sandwich is the culinary equivalent of wedgie. She likes camping, except for the outdoors part. Camping means poison ivy, which is nature’s version of an STD. She daydreams about cannibalism. Would I resort to cannibalism? After some thinking, I decided, yes, I would, and I’d eat the thigh first. She believes bad driving makes babies sad. And I’d like to remind you that the children are our future.

Did we mention Annie once chased down a man who stole her bag? And she got it back. All this is to say that Choi is one part badass and one part curmudgeon, with a soft spot for savage bears. But mostly she wants to ask the world: WTF?!

Written in Choi’s strikingly original and indignant voice, each of her personal essays begins with an open letter to someone (her naked neighbor) or something (the San Fernando Valley), that she has a beef with. Essays include the time her family ditched her on Christmas, her father’s ludicrous plan to retire on gold bars, and her extended family’s interest in her aging womb.

SHUT UP, YOU’RE WELCOME is more than laugh-out-loud observations—Choi’s deeply personal experiences are about a loving family exploring themes of racial identity and what it really means to be an American family.

About the Author:

Annie Choi was born and raised in Los Angeles but now lives in New York. She received her BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and her MFA in writing from Columbia University. In addition to Choi’s first book, Happy Birthday or Whatever, her work has appeared in White Zinfandel, Urban Omnibus, and Pidgin Magazine, among others.